Urban Agenda | Five tasks for the new government

India is poised to urbanise at a rapid pace with the United Nations predicting that by 2050 half of the population is set to reside in cities.

In the first cabinet meeting held on Monday after Narendra Modi assumed charge as the prime minister for the third time, it was announced that the government will maintain its budgetary promise on low-income housing under the flagship PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna) scheme. The cabinet note said that 30 million houses will be built under the PMAY, out of which 10 million will be built in urban areas over the next five years.

Almost half of Indian city dwellers are forced to live in slums. (HT Photo)

The urban component of this flagship scheme of the Modi regime is executed by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA).

Former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has been allocated the portfolio of housing and urban affairs, replacing former diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri who continues to hold the portfolio of petroleum and natural gas in the Modi 3.0 government. Taking charge of the ministry, Khattar on Tuesday said that effective state-level reviews would be undertaken periodically to ensure the timely completion of all housing projects. The former CM also said that efforts under the flagship Swacch Bharat Mission and AMRUT missions will continue in this term as well.

With India poised to urbanise at a rapid pace, and the United Nations predicting that by 2050, half of the population set to reside in cities, here’s a look at the core issues that sectoral experts think that the new minister in charge of MoHUA must have on his agenda.

Affordable housing and basic services

Currently, in India, the demand for affordable housing far exceeds the supply in Indian cities. Almost half of Indian city dwellers are forced to live in slums. Even in the national capital, the Economic Survey of Delhi conducted in 2021 found that five out of 19 million city residents live in areas with access to civic amenities.

Aravind Unni, an urban researcher and policy expert, said, "The intention of the government to provide housing is good; it is largely ineffective in its current form.” He cited the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) — a sub-scheme under the PMAY failing to take off substantially. He said while ARHCs need a push, even non-migrants should be allowed to avail of the rental scheme.

As of March, only 5,648 housing units were made available since the scheme was launched four years ago. “The existing verticals under the PMAY are failing to deliver on their intended goals. Especially for slums, there is a need for a new approach to make in-situ upgradation at a settlement scale. There is a need to bring in the aspect of land titling within the PMAY,” he added.

Similarly, Jaya Dhindaw, executive programme director, sustainable cities at WRI-India said more needs to be done to ensure access to basic services like water and sanitation in informal settlements while noting that Swachh Bharat and AMRUT have received significant budgetary allocations over the last two terms.

Climate resilience and adaptability

While there is an increase in allocation for building urban infrastructure, resilience needs to be incorporated at the planning level as extreme weather events are likely to become more frequent, said Dhindaw. “For instance, there is a need to ensure that the PMAY houses are not vulnerable to flooding, heat and other disasters through thorough participatory planning and proper design.” On the same line, she said there is a need for better disaster management and preparedness in terms of infrastructure, finance and planning to help cities deal with extreme weather events. She also advocated for rapid upskilling, so workers and professionals, such as those in the infrastructure planning and management sector remain employable and can advocate for and transition into green economy practices.

On the same issue, Unni said that the Smart City Mission, which is drawing to a close will be rebranded as an urban resilience mission to counter the growing impact of climate change. He said: “Heat action plans, climate action plans and other city-specific plans that target the vulnerable sections of the city can be tied to this new mission. In this regard, MoHUA should also relook at how it aligns with other ministries like the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change,” he added.

Sustainable transport

Jagan Shah, CEO of Infravision Foundation and former director of the National Institute of Urban Affairs, an autonomous think tank under MoHUA, said Indian cities need to consider all forms of mass transit that combine with Intermediate public transport (IPT) modes, such as e-rickshaws, shared autos, cycle rickshaws, and non-motorised transport to reduce the usage of private vehicles to reduce congestion on roads. In the 10 years of the Modi government, India has seen a major push for metro rail. It is positioned to have the world’s largest metro rail network once all the under-construction projects are made operational.

However, Shah said, cities need to rely more on bus systems to provide public transport, rather than the cost-intensive metro-rail systems. “Public-private partnership is highly successful in bus systems, and the rapid deployment of e-buses and ease of creating charging infrastructure at depots has made bus transport the thrust of urban transport system planning,” he said.

Municipal finance reforms

Over the last 10 years, there has been a substantial increase in budgetary allocations under MoHUA. However, even these increased budgetary allocations are not enough to meet the demand for the infrastructure necessary for the burgeoning population, according to experts. Apula Singh, manager of public finance management at Janaagraha, said cities need more investments and innovative financing models like pooled debts and bonds need to be explored more rigorously.

She added that while raising money is a challenge in the current situation, there is also a need to improve capacity to absorb the available funding and fix accountability for spending outcomes. On this, Shah added: “Bonds are signatures of good health for municipal finances as well as a reliable method of raising funds required for urban infrastructure and services. A combination of financial controls, training of finance department staff and market-orientation in urban local body functioning can improve financial health.”

Urban livelihood

The ministry of housing and urban affairs has also been running multiple programs under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM), such as micro-credit facilities like PM-Svanidhi, for the past two terms, and the same came to a halt in March 2024. Unni suggested that the government go ahead and implement the NULM 2.0 that has been in the works and is pending cabinet approval. He cautioned that while the PM-Svanidhi has seen a lot of traction, it should not become the sole focus at the expense of other sub-schemes like shelters for urban homeless (SUH) as they cater to the most marginalised. He suggested to benefit the homeless, the SUH needs to be incorporated into PMAY.